SPOKE DAWN BROWN NEVERMORE

[Alex Groff]

by Remy Minnick, ComixFan Staff Writer

If you have seen AI: Artificial Intelligence, Planet of the Apes or Ocean's Eleven you've already been exposed to Dawn Brown's work. She started in the film industry as a set designer before venturing out into the world of sequential storytelling with her creator owned title for Image, Little Red Hot. Now you can catch her latest effort, the graphic novel Ravenous, from Speakeasy press.

Comixfan: You have had a lengthy career in the film industry, with set design on motion pictures such as Big Fish, AI: Artificial Intelligence and the upcoming Ewan MacGregor film The Island. How does one go from set designer to comic book creator?

Dawn Brown: I was working as a set designer on Batman & Robin for Warner Bros. in 1996 - 1997. That was my first "huge" movie. I'm a big Batman freak, so I was absolutely thrilled to be there, but things became disappointing though the course of the show, I mean, that script was SO BAD. There was a vibe coming from the people at the top, they absolutely did not care or have any respect for the mythology of this character or this world. It was a joke and it was heartbreaking. I knew I could come up with a story better than that one - and so I started scribbling and sketching. I started developing this idea about a bounty hunter who is hired to search for God. One day Bob Kane paid a visit to the set, and the Property Master knew what a fan I was, so he arranged for me to spend a few moments with him. It was really inspiring. I was motivated to develop what would become Little Red Hot.

Comixfan: You've done set design for a lot of different films, does any one project stick out as a favorite?

Brown: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is definitely a favorite. Great cast & crew, there's more of a family atmosphere on a TV series than on films. The scripts called for fun, crazy new things every week.

Comixfan: You mentioned being a big Batman fan. Do you remember how your first exposure to the caped crusader? What about him drew you in?

Brown: The beloved Adam West TV show as on after school when I was a kid, and the Superfriends cartoon was on Saturday mornings. Batman just seemed a hell of a lot more entertaining than, say, Barbie.

Comixfan: For those not familiar with your previous work, what other comic books have you written or drawn for?

Brown: I am the creator of a title called Little Red Hot, which is about a ruthless bounty hunter searching for redemption - and she's married to the Devil. I've written & illustrated two Little Red Hot mini-series which were published by Image. I also illustrated issues 7 - 10 of Vampirella for Harris.

Comixfan: Your upcoming graphic novel is called Ravenous and is inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. What inspired you to write a comic inspired by Poe's work?

Brown: A couple years ago, I was researching classic literature for the next Little Red Hot project when I came across Poe. I noticed how a lot of his stories were more or less the same, he would just change the situations and the characters. I thought it might be interesting to strip these stories down to that common framework, and lay new stories on top. There's a common theme that runs through all his work, an honesty about the dark side of human nature, something I've always been interested in. I had to resume my day job for a while and work on a few movies, all the while this project was brewing - no longer a vehicle for Little Red Hot, but as something entirely of it's own. About a year ago I was able to resume this project full-time, and Ravenous was born!

Comixfan: What is the storyline behind your latest work, Ravenous?

Brown: Edgar Allan Poe believed that within each of us lurks the ability to commit evil deeds, and that every moment holds the possibility for sanity to crumble into madness. This is a new original graphic novel that explores the duality existing within each of us, and a grisly situation that drives a certain someone over the edge. A sleepy little town is caught in the clutches of a serial killer. All his victims are found sliced in two. Our story follows a young detective following the body trail, racing to piece together this mystery before the killer can strike again.

Comixfan: Your art style on Ravenous seems to differ from what is typically found in comic books today, and even your previous work on Little Red Hoi and Vampirella. What is the typical process you go through when creating a new page of art for Ravenous? What tools do you typically find yourself using?

Brown: Ravenous is definitely my best work artistically. When I was first starting in comics, not having a clue what to do, the easiest way to get started was to try and mimic the stuff I liked. But it's important to keep growing and find your own hand. I've finally developed a style and process that works well for me, and I'm comfortable with it. I do a line drawing over the photographs of the "sets", scan them into Photoshop and paint the pages digitally. For the figures, On previous projects, I used to look for poses from books and magazines, but that took too long. Then I used to hire models, but that became too expensive. This time around I used these artist's reference figures. They look like gray G.I. Joes that are super-articulated and proportioned (fairly) correctly. I can position them however I want in the sets and get some really great perspectives and dynamic lighting.

Comixfan: The creative process on Ravenous seems quite lengthy, with having to build the sets for the book first. How long, from start to finish, did it take you to do the art for the book?

Brown: I did all the line drawings from January to July 2004, so that's 6 months for about 100 pages. Then I took a movie job, the upcoming film, The Island, and painted Ravenous in my spare time from July to January 2005. So it took about a year! Whew!

Comixfan: Has your career in set design had any effect on your sequential art style?

Brown: I am definitely aware I think about storytelling from a cinematic perspective. My stories are 3 acts, structured like a movie script. When we are developing sets for film, we sometimes build scale models to help with the design process. So for Ravenous, I built scale models of the "sets" or environments and shot them with a digital camera for reference. I could play around with lighting and perspective so much faster this way. I've got this system really worked out now. I'm eager to keep going with it and roll into another comic project.

Comixfan: This is your first time publishing with Speakeasy. How did you get involved with them and what was the experience like?

Brown: Last year I was searching for a publisher for Ravenous, and I read about the Speakeasy open call for submissions on a comicbook news site. I didn't know Adam, I submitted my project just as everyone else was invited to. I was attracted to the idea of becoming involved with a company in the very beginning. I can honestly say the experience has been wonderful so far!

Comixfan: You previously have worked on the Image book Little Red Hot. Have you thought of returning back to Chane's universe in the near future?

Brown: I would love to. Chane will always be near and dear to me. I've always got Little Red Hot stories simmering on the back burner.

Comixfan: With the recent boom of comic book movies, have you thought of merging both careers and writing a feature length comic book film?

Brown: Of course I have. I would love to get a Little Red Hot or Ravenous movie or TV show in the works.

Comixfan: What do you have planned next?

Brown: Maybe I could be the first woman to write and illustrate a Batman or Superman or a Spider-Man book. What do you think? Has that been done before?

Click here to buy Ravenous and Little Red Hot at X-World and save!

[Anand Khatri]

Ravenous looks good. I'll give it a look.

btw...Great Interview!

[James Groves]

Looks quite interesting.